The Effects of Product Placements;
Introducing the RubberBand Man

Q: I'm a fan of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." How have Sears's sales been affected by its sponsorship of the program?

—Molly Parsley, San Francisco

A: You raise a question that is probably on many marketers' minds in these days of increasing use of product placement and branded entertainment. How much are these techniques really worth? It's already difficult for advertisers to tie ads and promotions, which stoke the imagination, back to less creative things such as...